Want to move into the two-rein but not sure when? What should your horse know? Will he be prepared? I’ve prepared a small list of things I make sure to master before moving my horse into the two-rein:
𝟭. 𝗡𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸
A good hackamore horse should not be forced nor rushed to neck reining, but should gradually learn indirectly and slowly. A finely trained hackamore horse is one that learns how to willingly and effortlessly neck rein. Whether or not they are trigger reined is dependent on a multitude of factors including breeding, but the fact remains…a good hackamore horse should neck rein effectively and without contact. Pivoting off my last point, the horse should know how to work without direct contact babysitting him through the movements. The Vaqueros of old called this “Riding The Slack”. A horse ready for the two-rein is one that can effectively neck rein, rate, backup, and turn with a loose rein. Of course, they should be able to do everything with a loose rein, but as long as there is speed control and
steering, the horse is already far better than most.
𝟮. 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
A two-rein is a big step for a horse, it is the point in their training career where they go from two handed, unrefined riding, to one handed riding. Granted, it is far from refined at that stage, but the point remains. The horse is growing up and putting on his big boy pants. In order to prepare for this, the rider should practice squaw reining. This is where the reins are held in a horizontal fist with the left and right rein coming out of the ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ of the hand. This way of riding offers more guidance to the horse with the rider’s twist of a wrist. It is a way to offer support similar to that of a hackamore, but one handed. It allows the rider and horse to get a feel for their progress or lack thereof. A horse ready for the two-rein will handle this rather nicely. A horse that is being rushed will nearly crumble while being squaw reined.
𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
This is controversial among Vaquero purists and ranchers, but due to my experience in the show pen, I find it necessary. A good hackamore horse should be able to function off of leg cues. He should understand isolated movements such as spins and disengaging thoroughly. He should have a good idea of side movements such as leg yields and side passes. The horse should finally know how to rate off the legs, stop, and backup. These things will help the horse compensate while they are green to the two-rein. It is also good to have multiple ways to cue for certain situations that may handicap your hand/rein (roping, broken hand, etc). And in the show-pen, it is always a good thing to show off control without so much contact.
𝟰. 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲
A horse moving into a two-rein needs to be competent in all maneuvers he’ll be asked for later in life, this is obvious and known. What seems to be forgotten is that the horse needs to be able to handle the utmost amounts of pressure within his future career and he better handle it nicely. Hairy situations may be trying to catch a runaway horse or dealing with a particularly tough cow in the sorting pen, whatever it may be, the horse cannot be barred from dealing with that high amount of pressure. If he’ll encounter it later in life, he ought to in the beginning of training and often. Something else to add, the horse should be able to handle in these situations while squaw reining or with a rope in your hand. Later in life, he’ll be one handed in a bridle bit, therefore he needs to know how to handle one handed without much aid from the rider’s fingers in between the reins.
𝟱. 𝗡𝗼. 𝟭 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱
This is taken from the book Hackamore Reinsman. The No.1 method is essentially holding the mecates like a set of romals in one hand while picking at the reins as needed with the other hand. It generally requires the rider to switch hands often. This most closely resembles the two rein and how it will feel for the horse. Prior to engaging the two-rein, the horse must know how to function using the No.1 method with little to no help from the other hand.
𝟲. 𝗠𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴
This is a requirement for those that pursue careers in the show world. A horse moving into their two-rein should be able to competently complete their pattern or cattle work with little to no trouble one handed in their hackamore. I'm not preaching showing in one hand with a hackamore, I mean during practice. The idea here is for the rider to practice with their hand holding the reins in a hammer grip similar to NRCHA rules on how to hold romal reins. If the horse can do that well, when they are offered that slight bit of support in the two-rein, they’ll be even better.
𝟳. 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝘀
This is something I find to be incredibly important in not only the training of a bridle horse, but the preservation of one. The idea is to be able to correct the horse and or move their independent body parts without the horse needing intervention via reins. For example: the horse is resisting a sidepass. Correcting with the legs would mean all the rider does is lightly pick up the reins to frame up the horse and use only their legs to get the sidepass working nicely. It is more than just correcting with the legs, it is being able to center and frame up the horse by merely picking up on the reins. It is the horse nicely staying in between the reins while receiving and responding accordingly to intricate leg cues from the rider.
𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩
Many rush to get to the two-rein. Whether it is impatience or wanting to look cool, the reason is irrelevant, it should not be done. For starters, rushing into the two-rein does nothing to speed up the training process. I speak from experience. I worked with one gelding for a year in his hackamore and then two in his two-rein before riding in the bridle was a feasible option. I worked with my mare for two years in her hackamore and 4 months in the two-rein. In only a few months she almost caught up to my gelding. In only two more months I could likely ride her in a spade no problem (i'm not doing that, I want to go even slower…but the point remains).
My point is that the extra work and time the horse devotes in the hackamore will pay handsomely during their two-rein phase. The more that is done there, the less needs to be done in the two-rein. The two-rein does not speed a single thing up. It is either the phase where the horse learns the spade by proxy or learns to frame up. In either case, a thoroughly trained hackamore horse will excel and fly through his two rein phase with little to no trouble. To put it simply: how easily the two-rein phase works for your horse is a reflection of the time you’ve invested in the hackamore.
And the final reason to NOT rush into the two\-rein: a two-rein is way to cool looking to suck in!
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